C2 STEERING GEAR BOX FINISH

[Rob A.]

It is my understanding that the most commonly accepted "finish" for the steering box is bare cast iron, and less common, low-gloss black. A corvette parts yard in my local area has over fifty of these, unrestored, in their warehouse. I have yet to see one without some sort of black paint. I also seem to only find black painted boxes in any of the photographs in restoration books, showing cars as they came from the factory. I was wondering how the correct, original finish was determined for judging.

[Patrick H.]

Re: C2 STEERING GEAR BOX FINISH

Rob,

I agree that generally midyear boxes are black. It isn't until about 1971 that natural cast iron seems to be more prevalent than black.

Patrick

[Harmon C.]

Re: C2 STEERING GEAR BOX FINISH

The common pratice is to look at original unrestored Corvettes and many other places and then the NCRS prints the manuals. This is an ongoing effort as changes are made when the team leader feels new research has found something to be different. In the newer years it happens often when judging first starts. The steering boxes in 1973 I think were all black. It could be that some were were unpainted on the assembly line by mistake or we need them now no time for paint to dry and other years they were all unpainted.In restoration I give the judge what he wants to see and have did research and get changes made but you need lots of examples to prove your point.